


Can't You See There's No Other Man Above You?

by AliyahOfAhksenfreh



Category: Star Wars Legends: The Old Republic
Genre: Angst, Betrayal, F/M, Game Spoilers, Implied Sexual Content, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Non-Graphic Violence, Partner Betrayal
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-24
Updated: 2017-04-24
Packaged: 2018-10-23 08:28:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,209
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10715841
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AliyahOfAhksenfreh/pseuds/AliyahOfAhksenfreh
Summary: "What a wicked way to treat the girl who loves you."-- Spoilers for Chapter 3 of the Sith Warrior storyline in Star Wars: The Old Republic --The relationship of Bel'lah, Lord of the Sith, and her lover, Captain Malavai Quinn, reaches a critical point. Includes flashbacks of a better (and sexier) time between them, and a little bit of violence. I mean, what else would you expect from a heartbroken Sith?Set during/immediately after the Transponder Station incident.





	Can't You See There's No Other Man Above You?

**Author's Note:**

> Malavai Quinn is probably the best/worst part of the Sith Warrior storyline. The betrayal is a great plot twist, unless you've engaged him in a romance, in which case it just doesn't make sense. So this is my attempt at resolving that for my own Warrior, and why she wouldn't just kill him because your hands are tied by the game developers.
> 
> Some dialogue taken from cut scenes.

She wanted to murder him. Malavai Quinn had been so many things to her – advisor, ally, companion, compatriot, lover. And now traitor. Every excuse he made, every word he uttered to explain his actions made her burn hotter and hotter, the fury turning her very soul to nothing but molten fire at her core. It had fueled her in her battle against his expertly-programmed droids, the ones he had specially designed just for her. Just to make sure she would die.

She had proved him wrong, of course. He could observe her techniques all he wanted, but he could never account for the power of the Force, especially when she was so intensely tapped into the Dark Side of vengeance. Cutting the droids to pieces had happened quickly, much to his chagrin. He drew his blaster to defend himself, but her lightsaber simply sent the bolts back at him, knocking the weapon from his hand and wounding him in the side.

Quinn was at her mercy now, as he knelt on the station floor, clutching at his side. There was no way he could defeat her on his own, not when his droids had failed so spectacularly. It shouldn’t have been possible, he had spent so many hours watching her, so meticulously programming the droids to counter her every move and strategy. But here he was, his head bowed, the hum of his master’s – his _lover_ ’s – lightsaber uncomfortably close.

“I know it is meaningless to express my deep regret,” he admitted, raising his gaze to meet her golden eyes, iced over in their fury. “I don’t expect your mercy.”

“It’s useless to defy me,” Bel’lah told him coldly, raising her hand to hurl him across the room into the bulkhead.

Quinn hit the wall hard, falling to floor with a grunt. Instinct had the better of him, and he stood as quickly as he could, hoping to escape through the nearby hatch. But Bel’lah had already closed the distance between them, her eyes aglow with rage as she held out her hand to choke the life from him using the Force. He grasped helplessly at his throat as he felt himself rise from the floor, his airway constricting. He couldn’t help the panic in his eyes as she stared him down, her fist clenching tighter and tighter, his air supply vanishing. Then something changed. Her eyes, which had burned with so much anger, began to soften as the pain and adrenaline gave way to heartbreak.

She still had a mission to complete on Corellia, and traitor or not, Quinn was an integral part of that critical success. As Quinn slipped into unconsciousness, she released him, letting him fall limply to the floor. With one foot, she poked at him to be certain she hadn’t actually killed him, although at the moment she wouldn’t be too upset if that was the case. But indeed, Quinn stirred, slowly pushing himself back up to his feet. He was alive, by the mercy of his lord, and maybe by the grace of her love.

“I will keep you alive,” Bel’lah told him flatly, “and we will see if you earn my trust again.” It seemed a false promise to her; she may not have truly known Quinn as well as she thought, but she knew herself. She would be hard pressed to ever trust him again, or even look upon him without disdain. 

“My lord, I’m… this is unexpected,” Quinn stammered, still shocked by her generosity. “Darth Baras would never forgive such a failure. If you will permit me to stay in your charge, my dedication to you will never come into question again.” 

> _She was nearly asleep when she felt him stir beside her, turning his head to press a soft kiss against her lips. It made her smile and hold him that much closer, wanting to feel the comfortable warmth of him that much more._
> 
> _“I am forever yours,” he murmured against her lips, sealing the pledge with another kiss._
> 
> _“I know.”_

Bel’lah crossed her arms over her chest, the armor serving as an appropriate barrier against her heart. A deep scowl lined her brow, accentuated by her bone ridges and scarlet skin.

“Trust is difficult to rebuild, Quinn. But I’m willing to try.” To try, perhaps, but not to succeed. Not after this. She suspected he knew as much as he dropped his gaze, nodding in acknowledgment.

“I’ll understand if things are different for a while,” he said softly. 

> _Her fingers grazed through his hair as they sat entwined at the edge of her bed, hips rocking slowly in a languid rhythm. His lips pressed to her throat, the tip of his tongue drawing soft patterns over her pulse point, making her gasp in his embrace. Encouraged, his hands began to wander over the curve of her hips, feeling the muscles of her back undulate under his touch, the swell of her breasts inviting him to caress and pinch and tease with tender abandon._

She wanted to laugh. Different wasn’t even an understatement, it was an outright lie. They both needed it, she supposed. Just one day earlier, he had promised to be hers, he had held her in his arms and made love to her as if she were the most precious thing in the universe to him. Had he known then what Baras had ordered?

“This interruption has delayed you enough.” Quinn’s tone was back to its cool and professional norm.  She scoffed at how easily he had snapped back to his normal flat efficiency, as if nothing of import had happened. “I’m eager to return to the ship and put this behind us.”

Unable to stand the sight of him anymore, Bel’lah turned on her heel and left the chamber, returning to the corridor outside the airlock. She could hear his footsteps following behind her.

“The ship is through there,” she told him, stopping to point the way, as if he could have forgotten. “Prepare for departure. I’ll join you shortly.”

“Of course, my lord.” He began to take a step, but a thought occurred to him before he could get far. “One thing, my lord – do you plan on telling the others what happened?”

The thought had occurred to her, of course. Denounce him as a traitor, leave him to the whims of Pierce, Jaesa, and Broonmark. But she needed him alive, for now, and the success of their mission to Corellia rested on Quinn’s integrity.

“No one else must know. It would compromise your ability to lead. Am I understood?” 

She could sense the relief that washed over Quinn at her answer. “I appreciate it, my lord. I’ll see you back at the ship.”

Bel’lah waited until she heard the airlock open and reseal behind him. When she was sure she was completely alone, she breathed deep and let out a scream of rage and anguish and hatred and pain, a scream carried by the Force with such power that it began to crumple bulkheads on its path. When she could scream no more, she collapsed to her knees, shaking still with her absolute fury at being so blind as to be betrayed by the one man she had trusted most. Even the Emperor did not have so much devotion as she had given to Quinn.

Anything that was movable in the corridor was thrown about by the Force, her lightsaber leaving deep gashes in the walls as she hacked and slashed her way, until there was nothing left for her to destroy. She forced herself to steady her breathing, trying to reclaim some kind of calm, her impassive mask put back in place.

She boarded the ship and checked in on the cockpit. Quinn was seated at his console as promised, working alongside Vette with his usual grimace of disapproval. He glanced up as she stepped onto the bridge, giving a deferential nod.

“My lord, our course is set for Corellia.”

“Depart at once,” she ordered, then swiftly left the bridge and locked herself away in her quarters. After several minutes, she realized she’d been simply standing inside the doorway, staring at the opposite wall, unblinking, unmoving. Then she realized that Quinn’s datapad was still on her desk, one of his uniforms hanging in her locker. She pulled everything of his out, tossing it haphazardly onto the floor before she called 2V-R8 in.

“How can I be of service to you, master?” the droid chimed.

“Take these things to Captain Quinn’s bunk,” she ordered, pointing at the mess on the floor.

“At once!” She was so grateful at that moment for the droid’s lack of emotional processing and judgement. No questions, no pondering, just following orders as directed. If it weren’t for the fact that they were so dreadfully boring, she considered for a moment replacing her entire crew with droids. They could be programmed to be loyal, although programming could be changed. Plus, she would rather miss Vette.

As if on cue, there was a chime at the door, and Bel’lah opened it to find the Twi’lek’s curious face peering back.

“Hey, so I noticed R8 carrying a pile of Quinn’s stuff,” Vette said, leaning against the doorway. “You guys didn’t break up, did you?”

“I think it wise for Captain Quinn to focus solely on our upcoming mission,” Bel’lah answered flatly. “Thus he’ll be returning to his own bunk, so that we will both be without distraction.”

Vette was clearly unsatisfied with the answer she’d received, but knew better than to press the issue. “Okay, if you say so… But you know you can always talk to me, right?”

Bel’lah was surprised to find herself allowing the smallest smile at the sentiment. “I know. Thank you, Vette.”

The conversation over, Bel’lah once against shut the door and stripped away her armor, leaving the layers discarded on the floor. What she’d told Vette had been half-true – both she and Quinn _did_ need to sharpen their focus for Corellia. Whatever lay ahead would surely put them all to the test; Baras was aware of her continued existence now, and had his own ambitious sights set on ruling the Dark Council as the false Voice of the Emperor. Everything was on the line.

As she lay in her bed, listening to the hum of the engines reverberate around the ship, she could sense the members of her crew retiring to their own bunks one by one. Vette had gone first, then Broonmark, followed by Pierce and Jaesa after their sparring match. Only one other soul remained awake as the chronometer ticked off into the late hours of the night, synchronized to their destination’s time keeping.

It wasn’t long before there was a soft knock at the door. For a long moment, Bel’lah lay still, intent on ignoring it. But as she heard the footsteps slowly dragging themselves away from the door, she gave an irritated sigh, and rolled out of bed to open the hatch. Quinn paused, turning back to see her standing expectantly in the open doorway. Their eyes met for a moment, before she turned back into her quarters, leaving the door open in invitation to him.

Once they were locked away in privacy, they still stood at opposite ends of the room in uncomfortable silence. Bel’lah remained only in her underclothes, and Quinn couldn’t help but let his eyes travel the length of her musculature, every curve and dip still so sharply etched into his memory. He had shucked off his uniform in the hopes of being able to sleep, although those efforts had been misguided.

> _“How fortunate you finally came to see things my way,” she murmured, nipping lightly at his ear._
> 
> _“I would have been a fool not to,” he admitted. “I never thought of myself as one who could have found love, but you’ve proven me wrong.”_

“I assume you wanted to do more than stare at me,” Bel’lah finally growled, crossing her arms expectantly. 

“Ah – Yes, my lord.” Quinn snapped back to his senses. “I know that there is still much to be discussed between us, and I thought that this would be the opportune moment to clear the air, before we arrive at Corellia.”

“I was rather hoping you’d get yourself killed there, and I’d have nothing else to think of,” Bel’lah sniffed, shifting her weight from one foot to the other.

“Of course, that is always a possibility,” Quinn dropped his gaze for a moment. “But it would leave things unresolved between us.”

“What else is there to resolve?” Bel’lah asked, her brow furrowing in growing irritation. “You betrayed me, I punished you, end of story.”

“It doesn’t bother you, then?” Quinn asked sadly. “Aren’t you wondering _why_ I obeyed Baras’ orders? Or if I’ve been following them all along?”

“I don’t see why it matters,” she answered shortly, although the softening of her face betrayed her true feelings on the matter. “Baras will soon be dead, his legacy rendered obsolete.”

“That’s just it – what if Baras wins?” The outburst was sudden, causing Bel’lah’s arms to drop in surprise. “My lord, _that_ is why I… Knowing Darth Baras and his history as well as I do, I could not foresee an outcome in which your efforts against him were victorious. Forgive me for my error, but in that moment, I saw my value to the Empire as greater alive and in the service of Darth Baras than dead alongside you.”

Bel’lah’s eyes narrowed, her face twisting into a snarl as she took slow, measured steps across the room to Quinn. Fury burned in her, she could feel it in every cell, drawing the power of the Force to her.

“So it was about self-preservation, then,” she growled.

“No, it was about my duty to the Empire.” Quinn held his ground, which surprised her.

“And what about your duty to _me_?” Bel’lah demanded. The strength of her anger began to waver as the pain of her fresh heartbreak took hold. “You swore your loyalty to me, you swore your _love_ to me. Was that all part of Baras’ plan, to keep me blind to your actions?”

“No.” Quinn’s voice was hoarse, even as he tried his best to appear unaffected by her words. “My love for you was – _is_ – true.”

“Nothing you say is true,” Bel’lah spat, the power of the Wrath returning as she finally closed the distance between them, one hand harshly grabbing Quinn by the hair, his head pulled back to expose his throat. She had no intention of truly harming him, only to remind him of who he was and how vulnerable she could make him.

“My lord –”

>   _“My lord, I –” Quinn’s breath caught in his throat as the waves of her pleasure began to spill over into him._
> 
> _“Malavai,” Bel’lah admonished sweetly, bringing her lips fiercely to his, her hand fisting into his hair._

“If you truly loved me, you would have had faith in me,” she growled, her voice low in his ear. “You would have believed that I could beat Baras, no matter what your calculations and simulations showed you. You would have remembered that I have the power of the Force and the Emperor’s Will with me.” She paused, feeling her voice about to crack, tears threatening to spill from her eyes, and tightened her grip on Quinn.

“If you truly loved me, Malavai, you would have been willing to die for me, as I was for you.”

She let him go then, turning her back to him. Quinn swallowed, faced with his own selfish cowardice. He had truly thought there was no alternative for him, as much as it had pained him to accept Baras’ order. It had been for the good of the Empire, for the success of the war against the Republic, not just his own sense of self-preservation and ambition. Hadn’t it?

“I was weak, and I was blind,” Quinn admitted. “But my love –” 

> _“My love –!” His voice began a gasping groan as he came, luxuriating in the feel of her following him over the edge, every nerve alive with sensation. She laid him back, molding her body over his, kissing every inch of skin she could reach._

“Call me that again, and I’ll have Broonmark rip out your tongue,” Bel’lah hissed over her shoulder. “I may trust you with my ship and my crew, but I will never again trust my heart to you.”

With a wave of her hand, she opened the door for him. Quinn didn’t need to be told to know that his time with her had come to an end. Slowly, reluctantly, he left her quarters, the hatch slamming shut behind him as soon as he’d passed through it. When he was gone, Bel’lah fell to her knees, bringing a fist down hard onto the floor as the tears she had fought so hard began to fall.

It enraged her to feel so weak, to be brought so low by a man. She was a Lord of the Sith, the Emperor’s Wrath, and yet at this moment she was nothing more than a sobbing mess, curled up like a child on the floor. Even when she had been young, she had never allowed her feelings to cut so deep, knowing it would prevent her from being sent to Korriban for training. What kind of Sith would be then?

Slowly, she pushed herself back up to her feet, turning to stare at the space Quinn had so recently occupied. It had started off so casually, a bit of fun to pass the time as they traveled. She’d been so amused when her upfront flirtations made him so clearly uncomfortable. All she’d expected in return was someone to dominate in her quarters after hours. But his confession of his feelings had changed everything.

She hated him for that, now. Even if he hadn’t known that Baras would one day order him to kill her, Quinn should never have let himself become so entwined. It would have made things easier for them both. But here they were, here _she_ was, trapped in hating him and loving him, wanting not to trust him but needing to rely on him.

With a harsh roar, she swung her bare fist into the closed hatch. The pain was immediate and intense, but it brought her an odd sort of clarity. With another scream, she swung again and again at the metal door, doing more damage to herself than her unmovable opponent. She’d need some prolonged kolto treatments, but she didn’t care. Down the corridor, she suspected that her crew could hear her, but she didn’t care.

> _“At least now I know you’re not entirely infallible,” she teased._
> 
> _“Yes, I’m still quite human, I’m afraid,” he chuckled, falling off into silence as she rolled to lay beside him. She threw one leg over him as she curled against his side, his hands coming to rest on her thigh._
> 
> _“I love that about you,” she murmured, stroking a finger at his hairline as she began to drift off to sleep. They lay silently, breathing quickly synchronizing as the overwhelming afterglow began to overtake them._

In this moment, she needed to make someone bleed, even if it was herself.

 


End file.
